Lately, I’ve been receiving a lot of emails from people with type 1 diabetes who want to study/work/live abroad. Their stories are different, their destinations are different, but at the core of each one is the same issue: How will I take care of my diabetes while I’m abroad? What advice do you have for me? Some just flat out say, I’m scared.

That being said, my replies are pretty much 1 part advice and 9 parts encouragement and reassurance. I say, You can do this. I know you can do this because I have done it–I am doing it currently–and I have type 1 diabetes, too. Here are a few things I’ve learned from experience and from listening to others, but as with most things (and definitely most type 1 diabetes things) plan to learn along the way. Plan to learn most things along the way.